ABSTRACT
The study focused on influence of hidden costs in education on academic performance
in public primary schools in Gatanga district. This mainly aimed at investigating the
influence of extra school levies on academic performance, relationship of lunch
expenses and academic performance, opportunity costs and its influence on academic
performance, influence of transport costs on academic performance and relationship
between expenditure on school uniform and academic performance in public primary
schools.The study may contribute to the body of knowledge on influence of hidden
costs in education on academic performance in public primary school. The findings of
the study would be a source of knowledge to education and general leaders interested
in hidden costs in education under free primary programme. The policy makers of the
Ministry of Education and curriculum implementers would pay more attention to
specific needs of pupils in public primary schools in Gatanga and provide relevant
data and strategic that can be put in place to decrease or abolish hidden costs in
education so as to encourage pupils from their areas to improve their academic
achievement. Stakeholders of education would look into the possible ways of
reducing inequalities in education for example engaging in income generating
activities in schools in order to cater for these hidden costs. The study was based on
education production function (EPF) as advocated by coleman, 1966 in
psacharopolous and Woodhall (1985). In this theory academic achievement in the
production function is seen as a function of many variables. The theory indicate that
education process is seen as a production process where many inputs are expensed in
a given ratio to produce good results (output). Its therefore clear that the quality of the
output will be determined by level of inputs provided how well they are combined for
maximum output and the quality of the inputs.In this study the academic achievement
in the production process is a function of the hidden costs in education and hence are
the inputs. If well catered for they are likely to produce the maximum output. This
analysis on the education production function is about how inputs are transformed
into outputs. The theory helps in examining the relationship between inputs and
outputs in the teaching/learning process.The study was conducted in 30 public
primary schools and adopted a descriptive survey design. The respondents included
30 head teachers, 120 teachers and 300 pupils. Stratified and simple random sampling
procedures were used to select head teachers and teachers respectively. Data were
collected using self administered questionnaires and interview guides. The data was
analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Statistical package for social
sciences (SPSS) version 18.0 was used to analyse data. Findings of the study were that
pupil who do not pay extra school levies, lunch expenses, opportunity costs, transport
costs and school uniform all affect academic performance. Major recommendations
were that government should intervene through disbursement of more funds to fully
cover all these hidden costs in education. Measures should be put in place to ensure
that while going after sees defaulters pupils are not forced out of school, the
government through different stakeholders should try and combat the rise from the
community by empowering the parents. Provision of school feeding programme and
employment of enough teachers by the government to avoid overburdening the
parents to employ their own.